A proto-virtual narrative on how technology impacts our relationships

L.A.'s Museum of Contemporary Art has commissioned Neon Indian's Alan Palomo to write and score a short film, titled "Outer Osmo Ghost Mode". The film, made possible by Gleam House and MoCA.tv, was animated by filmmaker Johnny Woods, who does live visuals for Neon Indian and also co-directed the film with Palomo. The full film debuts November 21, but you can check out a trailer below, via MoCA's YouTube channel.

According to Palomo, the film's fictional plot centers on two online avatars, Elda and Dell Banner, created by a married couple whose "behaviors and interests were conditioned by years of web browsing." The avatars exist in "a proto-virtual internet exploration program," called "Osmo," where users give their avatars "a ritual of activities that mirrors some idealized version of your life," much like actual social media today, Palomo says. "Essentially, [the avatars] have become the digital ghosts of the Banners."

Describing his score and sound design, Palomo said:

The score for "Outer Osmo Ghost Mode" seems to run back into itself and has done it so much it's begun decomposing with each pass... All the sounds that seemed to have an optimistic, futuristic quality when Osmo was created, will have undergone eras of digital degradation and come off distorted, distant, and otherwise anachronistic.

Palomo is currently working on new Neon Indian music, as well as a remix project.

Watch an episode of Pitchfork.tv's "+1" with Neon Indian at MoMA this year.